Most Bangladeshi migrant workers are unaware of the services provided by the Probashi Kallyan Bank due to lack of publicity about its activities. The management of the specialised bank has not taken any initiative to publicise the institution since it was established in 2011 to benefit overseas wage earners, official sources said. The bank is meant to facilitate expatriate Bangladeshis to remit money at low cost or invest in the country, and provide low-interest loans to workers who are aspiring to go abroad or have returned home. A bank official, who asked not to be named, observed that being a government-owned bank, the management could use state-run BTV and Bangladesh Radio to advertise the bank’s facilities. So far, about 2,500 job seekers have borrowed money from the bank to go abroad, while at least 100 returning migrant workers have received loans for rehabilitation. One such returnee, Al-Amin, has been unemployed since returning home from Libya during the 2011 civil war. Al-Amin, from Netrokona, worked as a construction worker in the North African country for nearly two years. He now wants to run a small business at home, but has been unable to do as he has no capital. “I didn’t know that the Probashi Kallyan Bank provides loans at low interest,” he said, while talking to the Dhaka Tribune over phone Friday. “How much money does the bank provide for small enterprises?” Al-Amin enquired, adding that he needed at least Tk200,000 to start a business. Monirul Islam, from Khulna, plans to go abroad to work as an electrician through a private recruiting agency. He said he was afraid as he does not know how will he manage the migration cost. When this correspondent informed him that he could get a soft loan at only 9% interest from the expatriates’ welfare bank, he said he had never heard about it. “It is necessary to publicise the activities of the bank, but bureaucrats manage the bank,” Tasneem Siddiqui, a director of the bank, said over phone Friday. Tasneem, who is also the founding chair of Refugee and Migratory Movements Research Unit, suggested that people trained in banking should manage the bank. News:Dhaka tribune Bangladesh/31-Aug-2013